Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for Veteran’s Administration (VA) funds and Federal Student Aid under the provisions of Title IV of the Higher Education Act.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
To meet SAP requirements and remain in good standing for financial aid eligibility, students must maintain a CGPA that meets or exceeds the minimum established by APUS, as shown in the chart below (applies once undergraduate students have earned 12 credits at APUS, and graduate students have earned 9 credits at APUS). Credits transferred into APUS are factored into the calculation of how many credits a student has completed for the qualitative measure and credits attempted for the quantitative measures, but only credits earned at APUS are used to calculate CGPA. For example, an undergraduate student who transfers 15 hours into APUS must earn a minimum CGPA of 1.50 for his initial 12 credits at APUS. (15 credits transferred plus 12 credits attempted at APUS = 27 credits. The minimum CGPA requirement for 27 credits is 1.50). Students who fail to meet CGPA requirements also fail to meet SAP requirements, and will be denied Federal Financial Aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Criteria Based on Cumulative GPA and Credits Attempted
| | # Credits Completed1 (Includes Transfer Credits) | Recommended for Financial Aid Denial (Minimum CGPA2) |
Undergraduate Students | 12 | 1.00 |
| | 13-24 | 1.25 |
| | 25-36 | 1.50 |
| | 37-96 | 1.75 |
| | 97+ | 2.00 |
Graduate Students | 9 | 2.00 |
| | 10-18 | 2.50 |
| | 19-27 | 2.75 |
| | 28 + | 3.00 |
1 Only courses where a grade of A through D- (Undergraduate) and grades A through C- (Graduate) will be counted when calculating your credits completed. Grades below these grades are counted as credits not earned, but are used to determine your credits completed for calculating where you fall in the chart above.
2 Only courses completed at APUS with a grade of A though F count towards the Cumulative Grade Point Average calculation.
Credit Hour Completion
Each APUS academic program has a defined number of credit hours required for completion. To maintain SAP, students must achieve a minimum percentage of credits earned versus credits attempted, as shown in the table below. Students will be evaluated once they have attempted 12 credits (undergraduate students) or 9 credits (graduate students), and each period of evaluation reached based on attempted credits thereafter.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Criteria Based on Credits Attempted versus Credits Earned
| | Credits Attempted3 | Credits Completed4 % |
Undergraduate Students | 12 | 50% |
| | 13-24 | 60% |
| | 25-36 | 65% |
| | 37+ | 67% |
Graduate Students | 9 | 50% |
| | 10-18 | 60% |
| | 19+ | 67% |
3 Attempted Courses
Courses in which the student remains beyond the drop week (week one), are counted as attempted regardless of grade received.Courses the student drops prior to course start date or during the drop week (week one) are not counted as attempted.
- Repeated courses count as attempted.
- Students who repeat a failed course and fail again cannot continue to take courses in their program of study until they contact their Student Advisor to determine an appropriate course of action. Federal Financial Aid will only pay for one retake of a failed course.
- Remedial courses do not count as attempted.
- Courses with grades of incomplete (“I”) will not be counted as attempted until an actual grade is earned by the student or the I grade is converted to an F by the Registrar or Instructor.
4 Completed Courses
Only courses in which grades of A – D- are received (for undergraduate students), or A – C are received (for graduate students) are counted towards credits completed.
